Boehner spoke for 73 seconds and took only two questions following the government shutdown, in a bizarre glassy-eyed display of a man who looked thoroughly defeated by the tea party extreme.

Boehner said:

“The House has made its position known very clearly. We believe we should fund government, and we think there ought to be basic fairness for all Americans under Obamacare. The Senate has continued to reject our offers, but under the Constitution, there’s a way to resolve this problem and that is to go to conference and talk through your differences. And I would hope that the Senate would accept our offer to go to conference and discuss this so that we can resolve this for the American people.”

This call for conference is a joke on a couple of levels. First, Democrats tried to get Republicans to go to conference back in April—they simply refused. Second, Republicans want to go to conference to continue to discuss the one thing President Obama and Democrats have said for years is not negotiable. So what the hell is the point?

You can’t blame someone for no longer wanting to debate an issue with you that you’ve clearly said you won’t support under any circumstance.

He also went on to say, “The House has voted to keep the government open, but we also want basic fairness under Obamacare.”

Let me just say this. When you’re a politician who wants to be taken seriously, calling a federal law by its right-wing given name instead of the law’s actual name is just childish.

Also, there’s no debate about “fairness under Obamacare.” It’s the law of the land—get over it. The debate for this bill was years ago before it became law. It’s no longer “up for debate.” That’s what these knuckle-dragging Republicans just don’t seem to get. They’re wanting to continue to debate the Affordable Care Act as if it’s some bill that still needs to be passed—it’s already been passed!

It’s the law. End of story. Period.

Boehner was also asked what he would say to the 800,000 federal employees who would be impacted by this shutdown, to which he avoided the question and walked away from the microphones. Nothing quite like a public servant refusing to answer what he would say to 800,000 Americans he supposedly “serves.”

But the fact of the matter is, he doesn’t have an answer for them. This is by far one of the most asinine events I’ve seen in our government in my lifetime. A government shutdown to avoid implementation of a law (which, by the way, went live the moment the government shutdown, so this shutdown did not stop Obamacare) which has absolutely no chance at being defunded or delayed.

So then what the hell is the point? There isn’t one. Outside of these Republicans posturing for their future political campaigns, this shutdown is absolutely pointless. The law was already passed by Congress, signed by the president and upheld by the Supreme Court. You can debate possible improvements to the law, but that’s not what Republicans have done. They haven’t offered a single alternative or improvement to the Affordable Care Act. And now they think they have the right to shut down the government just to soothe their humiliating public temper tantrum? Give me a break.

This is by far one of the most pathetic displays of “governing” I’ve ever seen. Republicans trying to blame Democrats and President Obama for the shutdown (even when many of their fellow Republicans have called this shutdown pointless and stupid) to try to defund a law which stands absolutely no chance at being defunded or delayed.

Allen Clifton is a native Texan who now lives in the Austin area. He has a degree in Political Science from Sam Houston State University. Allen is a co-founder of Forward Progressives and creator of the popular Right Off A Cliff column and Facebook page. Be sure to follow Allen on Twitter and Facebook, and subscribe to his channel on YouTube as well.